


Several Sides to a Story

by OreoOverlord



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Issues, Attempted Kidnapping, But still kinda evil, Caring Logic | Logan Sanders, Child Neglect, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Twins, Cursed Deceit | Janus Sanders, Cursed Logic | Logan Sanders, Elf Emile Picani, Gen, He is up for interpretation, He kinda kills some people, It's by accident though, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Kid Deceit | Janus Sanders, Kid Morality | Patton Sanders, Magical Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Major Illness, Minor Character Death, Morally Ambiguous Character, Morally Neutral Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Morally Neutral Deceit | Janus Sanders, Murder, My First Fanfic, So bear with me if it is bad, Teacher Logic | Logan Sanders, Teenage Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Teenage Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Teenage Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Teenage Deceit | Janus Sanders, Teenage Morality | Patton Sanders, Vampire Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Vampires, Witch Morality | Patton Sanders, Wrongful Imprisonment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:20:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25093756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OreoOverlord/pseuds/OreoOverlord
Summary: Janus has lived a life of misfortune, forced to cast away any semblance of morals to survive in this cruel world.Remus has done unspeakable things, and is cast out due to his mistakes.Roman's world has been turned upside down since the day he found his brother standing over his father's corpse and is simply trying to be the king that his people need.Logan was an ordinary teacher and self proclaimed scientist who fell victim to a haywire curse and has to live the rest of his life stuck in the form of a lowly house cat.Virgil tries his hardest to defy his true nature as a vampire and protect his best friend Patton. Unfortunately he is prone to failure.Patton has to live under the shackles of regret. Despite his sole desire to keep the people he cares about to be happy and safe from everything, including himself and his uncontrolled powers.This is the story how these individuals lives intertwined and changed each other for the better, or worse.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To my most likely non-existent readers, this is my first fan-fiction and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! Be sure to point out anything you think I could work on if you like so my writing can improve! Thank you!
> 
> !TW: Starvation mention, Food mention, Mild manipulation, Lying, Fire mention, Death mention, Discrimination, Murder mention, Weapons.  
> I think those are all but correct me if there's more or if I'm doing this wrong.

Janus was clever. He saw this coming. He knew there was more to that strange visitor, but his parents seemed keen on disregarding his input. He would have told them they should have listened to him, that they were naive fools for being so trusting of a clearly deranged stranger. That is most certainly what they would be hearing him say right now, had they survived. But no, go ahead and put your faith in a complete stranger! What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like he’ll burn down your house, killing both of you, turning all your possessions to ash, and leaving behind an orphaned, broke, and homeless twelve year old. Oh, wait… That is exactly what happened. Way to go. The best parenting of the year award hereby goes to Mr. and Mrs.Lyre! Congrats! Should we put the trophy to the left or right of your tombstone? Or maybe we should just put it by your son’s grave once he finally starves to death or dies of hypothermia. Oh right, he was alone on the streets. He should probably find something to eat. Maybe Mr. Walker the baker would have some leftovers he would give to Janus. As much as it pained the charismatic young boy to have to beg, survival came first. So he began his trek to the bakery and reflected on where his life had gone wrong thus far.  
-  
Freyja and Clay Lyre were decent people. They definitely didn’t deserve what happened to them, but since when has life been fair? It is a dog-eat-dog world out there, it is a pity they didn’t realize it sooner. Their son however, did. 

Janus had always had a knack for knowing what people desired. Martha who sold dyes down the road just wanted someone to listen to her problems. Jaquelyn, who always seemed to have a few extra eggs on hand when she went to the market, desperately wanted some simple compliments. Robert who helped his father, the butcher, only wanted someone to play games with. Janus would give these people what they wanted, and in return they would do what he wanted. It didn’t really matter if he cared what Sara’s dead cat was like, or about Jeremy’s father’s gambling problem, he still listened. Some might refer to this as manipulation, but Janus thought of it as trade. In exchange for his time spent playing tag with Robert, he might give him a discount on the pork Janus was sent to buy. Martha might teach him how to make yellow dye and give him some materials after he assures her that her father will come back from the war. So when their strange visitor came by, Janus was sure he knew what he really wanted.

It was a fairly average day. Janus had just finished helping Jaquelyn clean her chicken coup, and was returning home with a small basket of eggs as payment. That is when he saw the creep who caused this mess riding on an undoubtedly expensive, elegant black stallion right down the middle of their insignificant town.

He was wearing a black coat over a slightly darker black shirt with green embroidery trailing across his chest like a sash. He had on tall black boots and dark grey pants. His eyes were the same shade of green as his shirt was decorated with and he appeared to have some form of purple shading on his eyelids. Whether that shading was magic or makeup was hard to tell. He seemed to be a few years older than Janus, possibly somewhere between 14 and 16. He had the beginning of a mustache starting to show on his upper lip and his hair had odd streaks of white. The most alarming thing about his character however, was the abundance of weapons on his person.

Janus’ eyes were sliding to all the poorly hidden knives in his coat and the morning star dangling dangerously on the side of the saddle. He made a mental note to try to avoid this person. His town was not one where wealthy people often visited. They were a secluded little village on the outskirts of the kingdom that held many middle and lower class citizens. A rich man coming here was suspicious enough, but as highly armed and young as he was there was something definitely off. So Janus did keep his guard up, but he didn’t stress the situation too much. This teenager was likely just passing through, and he wouldn’t have too much time to wonder about this strange character. 

Janus was proven wrong when he returned home to the boy in his house speaking with his parents while his mother prepared dinner. 

“Oh! Janus! You must come meet -er- I’m sorry what did you say your name was again?” His father called from the dining table.

The stranger paused briefly before stating, “You can call me Patrick! Like patricide! You know when you kill your dad? My parents had a sick sense of humour.” 

Janus raised his eyebrow at the way his eyes darted around when he said that, but quickly masked his suspicion. “Well it is a pleasure, Patrick. My name is Janus, but I’m sure you already know that.” Janus gave his parents a small smile before continuing, “Might I ask what brings you to our town, though? We don’t typically have many visitors.”

“My brother thought it would be good for me to leave town for a bit! So I decided to go on a little adventure! You know how family is, always wanting you gone. If I had stayed any longer pretty sure one of us would be strangled!” The strange person’s eyes went wide and it seemed his gaze landed on the knife block behind Janus’ mother, but his eyes quickly went back to his own.

“Of course,” Janus replied with a faux smile before the conversation returned to his parents.

Janus noticed many things when observing the older boy. He noticed the way his eyes lit up and his grin became wider when Janus’ mother started chopping meat on the cutting board. He noticed the way that this “Patrick’s” eyes seemed to stray from his mother or father whenever the conversation went back to his own life. He noticed the way he brought up morbid conversation topics without seeming disturbed in the slightest. He noticed what he wanted. He wanted to hurt people. 

Janus had no way of knowing whether he intended to act on those unruly desires, but he wasn’t willing to find out. So when his mother offered to let him stay in the living room for a few days, Janus knew that all his years practicing manipulation and getting people to do what he wanted were going to need to be put to use.

-

That night, after their guest was fast asleep, Janus found that convincing his parents to agree with him was easier said than done. 

“Mother I implore you to listen to my reasoning!” He stated with irritation clear in his voice.

“No, Jan. You are just reading too far into things. Have some faith in your elders’ choices for once!” His mother could be infuriatingly stubborn at times.

“Your so-called ‘Faith’ is what is going to get you killed! Why is it so hard for you to listen to me? It’s like you don’t care about your family’s well being at all!” Had the situation not been so serious, Janus would have found the accuracy of his statement amusing.

“How DARE you claim that? I love you all to the bottom of my heart! And Frankly I am done having this conversation with you! You can go chop some firewood until you are ready to drop this conversation and go to sleep like an obedient child!”

Well, there goes his plan to talk his parents out of it. His plans had a knack for failing anyways. He will just have to stay on guard around this ‘Patrick’. If that even is his real name. It probably isn’t. Instead of arguing any further, he just let out a sigh, gave his idiot of a mother a quick glare, and stepped outside to chop the firewood.

-Three Weeks Prior-

Remus was a fine prince! That is if you ignore his constant duels with his brother, his inappropriate outbursts, his attempts at sneaking hygiene products into the food in the kitchen, his refusal to wear his family colors of red and gold, his ambushing of any nobles he comes in contact with, his obsession with violent and disgusting scenarios, his disregard for any and all rules, his hatred of society, his hatred of morals, and the fact that he was technically an outlaw for being born. 

Yeah, he was awful! 

That didn’t bother him in the slightest, though. Life was meant to be lived! Not to be wasted away constantly trying to impress society! It’s not like he actually followed through with doing anyone irreversible harm! If he did that he would be locked away in prison and never get to see some spoiled rich brat take a bite of desert only to realise that it is filled with literal garbage Remus handpicked for the occasion again!

So life was great even if he was the worst Prince in the world. It wasn’t like he was the only one.

It had been decided by the royal twins who would be king from a young age. Roman had always been more fit for the role, and the obvious choice. Remus would probably start a war on a whim and accidentally kill all their troops leaving their kingdom defenseless to attack and they would all die a horrible and gruesome death. Maybe he should write that down as his next book? Anyway Roman wanted to be king and rule the land peacefully while really all Remus wanted to do was have some fun. So there were no hard feelings! Honestly Remus didn’t know if there could ever be hard feelings between the two brothers. They were joined at the hip. Roman was practically the only family Remus had.

Roman and Remus had always been close. Their mom died during childbirth and their father had always been distant with them due to his duties of being a king. They were assigned a caretaker, but he never really liked the boys much. He was only nice to them when their father was around, and that wasn’t often. So, Roman and Remus didn’t have anyone they would really consider family aside from each other. 

So when they were young and Remus started to show signs of having magic in him, Roman helped him hide it. It wasn’t like magic was outlawed yet, so Remus unfortunately didn’t get to say that he was a criminal most of his life, but it was highly frowned upon. If word got out that there was a magical prince, Remus’ very morbid imagination might finally be satisfied with some real instances to go along with his gruesome thoughts. So, if Remus truly desired to keep his head, it might be wise to keep his talents hidden.

There weren’t often many problems with this, seen as Remus seemed to have a fair amount of control over his powers, but there were a few incidents. Sometimes when Remus was throwing a tantrum the candles would blow out, the stairs might get a little more slippery, occasionally the food would go bad, or everyone might have an awful headache. These were never able to be traced back to Remus however, which left him rather grateful when Roman came into his room crying about how their father outlawed magic.

-Two Hours Ago-

Prince Roman was standing in his room reciting a rather magnificent piece of poetry he had written when his father popped in.

“Hola Padre! What brings you to my lovely abode? I was under the impression that you could not be graced by my presence until dinner?” Roman asked with his typical dramatic flair.

“Hello Roman,” the king replied ignoring Roman’s question, “May I speak to you in the garden though? It is rather important.”

“Why of course, father,” Roman said, noting the seriousness in his dad’s voice before following down the corridors. 

Once they reached the garden, Roman’s father began speaking.

“Roman, in a few days I’m going to be very busy with the council and I'd like it if you came with me. It is a very important law that I am trying to pass and I need you there to support it.”

“I would gladly be there for you, Father!” Roman was unable to contain the excitement dripping into his voice after hearing his father’s statement.

“Good. I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me son. First, however, you must learn what this law entails. Otherwise your presence would merely be decorative, and I know that you wouldn’t like that.”

“Great! Don’t spare a detail, Padre! I want to know everything about it!” the prince replied, clearly very enthusiastic.

His father took in a breath before beginning, “Well I’m sure you know about the increase in magical sightings lately, and I have finally decided to do something about it. This new law states that any inhuman or magical being should be immediately removed from our kingdom, imprisoned, or executed.”

Wait.

What?

“Pardon me father, but I must have misheard you.” Roman started to feel his face heat, vision going slightly red with rage. “I believe you said that all magical folk would be imprisoned?!”

“Or executed or removed. It really depends on how dange-” The king was quickly cut off by his son’s yelling.

“WHY?! WHAT ABOUT THAT STATEMENT SEEMS OKAY TO YOU?!”

The father looked baffled before continuing, “I do not appreciate that tone boy. Magical beings are a threat. We must eliminate them before they eliminate us. This is how politics work. This is how you keep a kingdom safe.”

“Keep a kingdom safe? You call hunting down and murdering innocent citizens keeping people safe?” Roman said while looking truly disgusted at his father.

“These things aren’t innocent! Magic is evil and we must dispose of it before it disposes of us. Maybe you’re just too immature to realize that!”

Roman scoffed. “Call me immature all you want you scumbag, but at least I’m not cruel! I am never going to support this!”

Roman stormed off before his father could see his tears. Before he even knew what was going on, he arrived at his brother’s door and explained what had happened.

“Well, you know what this means Ro.” Remus started after hearing his brother recount the events of this night.

“What?” Roman asked.

“It means I have to add another person to the hit list. Shame. I rather enjoyed not being an orphan,” Remus joked to try and lighten the mood, though he would be willing to do it.

“Remus.” Roman gave him a disapproving stare before continuing, “We aren’t killing our dad. We will find a peaceful way to change his mind without stooping to his level.”

“Maybe you aren’t…” Remus muttered under his breath.

“Remus.”

“Fine! Fine! We will be peaceful! Even though I just got my morning-star polished…”

“Remus, promise no violence towards our father!” Roman shot him another meaningful glare.

“Alright. I swear on my love of the trash I won’t do anything without you and will try to do things your way.” 

Roman knew this was likely the best he would get out of his infuriating brother, and decided to hold him to his word.

It’s a pity that all promises are bound to break.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus makes a mistake that will impact everyone's lives and has to try to escape the consequences of his actions. 
> 
> AKA I go overboard on Remus angst and have no idea how to write anything well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !TW!: Death, Murder, Death Threats, Mild Graphic Violence?? (Idk if it would be considered graphic but it might be), Accidental Murder, Fire, Child Endangerment, I'm not sure if there are any other trigger warnings but please let me know. 
> 
> Also this chapter is 4,028 words so be prepared...

The next day Remus woke to his brother’s snoring that he would most certainly deny if someone pointed out. Naturally, as revenge Remus pushed his twin off of the bed that they seemed to both fall asleep in. 

Thump.

Remus was sure that his twin’s whine could be heard throughout the whole kingdom as he attempted to scold Remus on his mischief.

“How dare you, you dastardly villain?” Roman yelled at his brother.

“How dare I? It was you who awoke me with your horrendous snoring! I was simply taking my justified revenge!” Remus retorted with mock offense in his voice.  
“EXCUSE ME?? I DO NOT snore!”

“You snore like a bear in hibernation which it will never wake up from!”

Their cat, which they named Berry, mewed in agreement to Remus. Remus swore that cat understood everything they said! One day he would find a way to understand him. He knew it.

Roman scoffed before stating, “Well I’m going to go make myself useful which a certain someone I know can never manage to do!”

“You’re only leaving because you know I’m right~” Remus retorted in a sing-song voice.  
Roman didn’t bother arguing back and simply left the room. It was the best way to defuse a situation, sure, but it was so boring! Remus loved their playful banter, and he knew Roman did too, but he was always the first to leave before a fight broke out. Truly a shame, their fights were epic, but Roman just had to keep up appearances! Lame. 

Remus’ eyes scoured the room in search for something fun to do. He spotted his morning star, no Roman to duel with. He saw a bookshelf, just plain boring. He looked at practically anything he could occupy his time with before landing on what he knew would take up his entire morning; his cat.

Remus was quick to lift Berry into the air with only a small hiss of protest. He carried him to his room where Remus kept all his soon to be illegal spellbooks. He always liked the idea of partaking in some criminal activity, and seen as this was currently going through the process of being outlawed, he figured it was close enough. 

Remus lifted the floorboards to find a few old books, some lavender candles, and an arrangement of old spices to help him cast this spell. After seeing the assortment of oddities, the very confused cat slowly backed towards the closed door to Remus’s chambers.

Remus looked up from his reading to find a very skeptical cat. He figured that if the cat can really understand him he ought to explain himself, “Oh hey Berry! It’s not what it looks like, well actually it is… but it’s gonna be fun! You see I’m gonna make you able to talk! Well that is assuming this goes right and we both don’t die a horrible death that could have easily been prevented had we both stayed in Roman’s room and we know that as taking our last breath-wait! The spell, right, sorry.”

The cat shot him an ‘And you couldn’t think of anything better to do with your time?’ look in response to his mini tangent. Huh. Maybe they didn’t really need this spell anyways. It would still be entertaining and make Berry’s life a little easier and much more fun! So, Remus continued to explain, “Well I was a bored witch. You seem like a smart cat. So, naturally, I try to put a spell on you! Also my dear old dad is trying to make this illegal and you know how much I love breaking the rules. Can you imagine what he would do if he found out? Do you think I could finally visit the dungeon??!!” With that, the cat seemed satisfied, or at least knew he wasn’t going to get a better answer out of Remus, so he walked up to the prince and awaited his fate.

-After The Spell Was Completed-

There was a puff of blue, black, and green smoke, before someone pounded at the door. Remus looked to the door, then back to the cat and asked, “Well, did it work?” The cat let out a few choked sounds that sounded, to put it frankly, creepy coming from a cat’s mouth, but no words managed to form. 

A voice that Remus could recognise as a servant, maybe named Alberta, came from outside the door, “Prince Remus, your father asked that I take you to his study now.”

Ugh. King Matthias may have helped conceive Remus and Roman, but he was hardly involved in their lives enough to be considered a father. He rarely spoke to his sons, and whenever he did it was in the most inconvenient times! Like when they were busy cursing cats. Reluctantly, Remus left with the man, but he was bringing Berry with him.

When they finally arrived at the doors of the king’s study the servant left and Remus entered. “Ah, Remus, you’re here only slightly late,” his father started the conversation on a fairly low note. “Lucky I showed up Father,” Remus muttered under his breath.

“Please do speak so that all may hear you, Remus. Kings cannot be quiet, we must have commanding voices,” Matthias said, although he definitely wouldn’t want to hear most things Remus said under his breath, no one would. Regardless of that though, Remus replied, “Kings?” Remus laughed before continuing, “You don’t have to pretend around me. Roman is going to be king, and I’ll be the forgotten twin free to live as I please.”

His father gave him a look that might be considered sympathy, but Remus knew better than to think this man could feel. “Oh don’t be so sure of yourself, son. I’ve been thinking, and I believe that you would be a better king.” The current king mistook Remus’ surprise for a pleasant feeling, and decided to continue, “You see, after speaking to your brother yesterday, I believe that he may be too naive for the role. You, however, have always been more cynical and willing to get your hands dirty.” 

Remus’ mind finally caught up with the situation and he said, “Well, I finally realized who I get my bad ideas from.”

The king looked at his son with offense on his face as clear as the river Remus wishes the old fool would drown in before replying, “EXCUSE me Remus, but if you have any complaints towards your father you will express them in a civilized manner!” At that his son laughed, “Listen old man, I know you have been avoiding us our whole lives, but if you wanted civilized, you got the wrong twin.”

“That is enough out of you young man!” The father sent his boy an angry glare, “I am aware that your shenanigans have given you a bad reputation, and your behaviour certainly requires work, but those can all be fixed much easier than your brother’s flaws.” “By flaws do you mean the fact that he isn’t a soulless monster? ‘Cause in that case, you’re right when you say it can’t be helped,” Remus retorted. “By flaws I mean that he is sympathizing with soulless monsters!” The King shouted.

“Oh?” Remus replied, expression darkening. He began to think about all the ways that he could show this man that a true monster has been living under his nose for fifteen years, and none of them were all that fabulous for his father. He wouldn’t do any of that right now, though. He told Roman that he wouldn’t stoop so low as to patricide. Remus didn’t like to lie or break promises, especially to his brother. He prided himself in his honesty, saying and doing almost everything that came to his mind with no hidden agendas as long as it didn’t expose his magic. He liked just living life in the moment for the most part.

Remus was broken from his train of thought as the king continued the argument, “Once this law goes through, he won’t be able to get away with that blasphemy. The people would think he’s a witch himself and burn him at the stake!”

Remus scoffed, “They’d never do that! Even if he was a witch, one nice speech from you and he’s cozy in his bed without any fire or mobs!” Remus was struggling to keep his magic from bubbling to the surface. It was often emotionally charged, and he was nothing if not emotional right now. His hands started to heat up and he could barely hide a green glow emanating from them.

This magic was instinctual, unlike earlier. Earlier he had been using premeditated magic. That sort of magic requires you to put all of your thoughts, feelings, and intent into one spell. It was really difficult for someone with as active of an imagination as Remus, but he managed. It was sort of like keeping a hoard of flies all on one corpse, when there was so much more rotting meat in a room down the hall; difficult, but with a few extra materials to block the cracks in the door, possible.

This, however, was not premeditated, this magic was like a reflex. When there is nothing you need to be concerned about, it is easy to suppress, but when either emotions or adrenaline are high, it becomes a lot more challenging. Right now, if Remus were to pick an analogy to compare it to, he would say it was like trying not to move or flinch with a serial killer throwing knives at you. 

So when his father responded by saying that he would never defend his son in that situation, that if Roman were to possess something as evil as magic he deserved death, the room went green.

Remus’ magic was out of control. He didn’t bother trying to suppress it anymore as the room was illuminated by green fire that coated the teenage prince. He cackled as he spotted the king’s face, terrified as he realized his mistake. “Once again your majesty~” Remus taunted, “You’ve got the wrong twin.”

Well, Remus supposes that he was bound to slip up and betray Roman eventually.

In a fit of blind rage the magical twin is atop the screaming king, letting his flames consume them both with the fury of someone who was just told that his father thought he should die. The feeling was obviously mutual. Then, to make the situation worse…

Roman walked in.

He stared into the study eyes wide with shock. The room was a disaster. The furniture was blackened and burnt. The books and papers were aflame. There was an unlucky cat cowering behind various materials to try to avoid the sickening green fire. Roman wasn’t looking at any of that though, he couldn’t get his eyes off of the charred figure that had once been his father.

Remus heard a choked sob coming from the doorway and looked up to see his twin with a hand over his mouth and tears coating his eyes. “R-Roman I-” Remus started, but was cut off when his brother ran away from him. Remus looked around, finally coming back to his senses having used his excess magic. He stared at the corpse that lay beneath him, and despite his hatred for the man, he could only feel regret. What had he done?

Remus made a conscious effort to not let his magic escape him once more out of grief this time, rather than rage. He had to move. He had to find Roman. He had to tell his brother that it was an accident. He didn’t mean to kill him. Roman would definitely understand! Or, he would burn him at the stake like he had burnt their father, but that’s a problem for later. Right now he had to explain.

He ran down the halls as fast as he could, only ever slowing down to check if Roman may be hiding somewhere. He rounded the corner onto the corridor where both of their sleeping chambers were and briskly entered Roman’s. After a quick search he concluded that his brother wasn’t in here, and decided to grab his morning star which he often left in his twin’s room before moving on, you never know when you might need a weapon.

The next stop was his room. Though he doubted that Roman would actually be there, it wouldn’t hurt to check. As he searched for his brother, he heard guards shouting about finding the king dead. He wouldn’t have much time before people realized that it was him who had killed his father. Wow. He actually killed his dad! Not gonna lie, he had thought about it before. He never took those thoughts seriously, though. His dad had never really been there for them, but he wouldn’t actually kill him! At least, that’s what he thought. This is so surreal! It feels like he’s in one of those stories he and Roman always liked. The only problem though, is that he couldn’t tell if he was a hero or villain. Everyone knew that the villains were cooler, but Roman seemed to think that all villains needed to be defeated. Would Roman want him to be defeated? Would he die at his brother’s super lame sword in a pile of spilled guts and blood? As awesome as that imagery is, he’d rather not dwell on it. He had murder to get away with.

Remus quickly changed into some less regal clothing, swapping out his super cool shirt and sash for a coat, an embroidered shirt, and his favorite boots. He quickly packed a bag with similar clothing, spell books, money, and other necessities. He grabbed as many weapons he could, (which was a rather impressive number) and brought those too. Deeming himself ready to go, he exited into the hallway.

Originally, the plan was to keep looking for Roman and apologize, but unfortunately Remus found that would be rather difficult. He searched for a few minutes, but Roman could be anywhere by now. He could explain to Roman after he got out of here alive. So he took his favorite horse and rode as far away as he could get. 

That night, Remus found a nice city to stop at. Not much happened, but he did hear the news. Apparently, Roman had confessed what he saw to everyone, and was now to be made king when they turned sixteen in a few months. Oh, and Remus has a bounty on his head. Turns out, Roman did see him as a villain. He couldn’t really blame his brother. He had walked in on Remus looking like a complete maniac while mercilessly burning their father to a crisp less than twelve hours after promising that he wouldn’t result to violence. The memory made Remus shudder. Don’t get him wrong, he loved gore. Typically, a thought like that wouldn’t affect him much, but that wasn’t just a thought, that was a memory. He hadn’t imagined killing their father, he had actually done it, and Roman saw. Looking back on it, the man did deserve it. Roman didn’t deserve to see it, though. Both twins were tough, but that kinda scene was tough for anyone, let alone someone of their age. There wasn’t much else to hear, so he decided to stop at an inn.

Remus stayed at a fairly run down place that night, but at least it was cheap. He had limited money now, and he’d rather save it for something cool, like a pig’s head. Plus, the rats that he could hear scurrying in the walls were a great addition. He layed in that bed thinking over how strange the day had been. He contemplated what he should do next for a little while, before drifting off.

The next morning he woke with a start. He could hear ruckus downstairs from his room in the inn. He couldn’t make out much of what was being said, but picked up enough to realize that they were knights. Remus swiftly got his belongings together and considered his options; he could try to slip past everyone, but he would definitely be recognized in the light of day, he could fight the knights, which would probably be pretty fun, or he could jump out the window and ride away on his horse. Obviously, he chose to fight them.

As he made his way down the stairs to the lobby he spotted a knight and a younger boy, probably his apprentice, and the old lady who owned this place. The knights were asking her who had checked in last night and she answered to the best of her abilities. It was a crowded city and her inn had tons of sketchy customers. The woman couldn’t give a perfect description of who had come through, and they seemed ready to give up on the inn and check the next place. Remus chose this moment to reveal himself.

“Heya pretty boys, looking for someone special?” Remus asked flirtatiously while walking down the stairs. Immediately, the knights recognised their prince and looked at him so disgusted you’d think he just asked if he could lick their toes. 

“I’d hardly call a killer such as yourself special,” the younger one spat. Before Remus could even reply the older knight spoke, “Remus Evirtace, I, Sir Ernold the Bold, am here to arrest you by the order of Crown Prince Roman for the murder of King Isadore Evirtace, your father.” The innkeeper looked terrified at this information, and quickly backed away into a different room. Remus however wasn’t at all phased by the statement.

“Oh? And what makes you think that I won’t sear your flesh to a crisp just like your beloved king?” Remus asked with a malicious grin. If he truly was the villain of this story, might as well have fun with the role. 

The knights quickly drew their swords and the battle finally began. 

Remus let the adrenaline from dodging their blades fuel his magic and soon let the room become enveloped in a suffocating green smoke. He could feel the warmth from his fire all over his skin. The power was exhilarating. He knew that these people wouldn’t stand a chance if he truly wanted to kill them. They were at his mercy. 

Good thing he was feeling merciful.

He can’t kill them right now. Good villains always wait. What kind of wicked witch would he be if he killed them off the bat? No, they have to fight first. As fun as adding arrogant knight blood to his hands may seem, that would definitely lack his signature dramatic flair. Plus, maybe if he let them live, he could tell them to tell his brother he was sorry. 

That however, would not be an easy task. He had to prevent them from killing him, while simultaneously not letting his fire burn them like a barbecue. It wasn’t nearly as hard as when he tried not to kill his dad though. Emotions were high at the time. Now, the only thing making his magic act up was adrenaline and he knew he wasn’t in any real danger. If the knights get even a little too close to stabbing him he can just flick his wrist and the flames already covering his body would cover theirs too. They won’t get close to slicing him up like a birthday cake of guts though, because they can’t even see him! 

Remus decided that them just standing there blinded by his smoke while he watched them, not at all affected by his own magic, was getting a little boring. To try and solve that problem, he threw a fireball. No he didn’t change his mind about sparing them. It was more just to scare them. The fire missed, they didn’t even need to dodge it, but they got the message. The teenager let out a not-so-brave screech as another one was shot, this time they did need to dodge it. The older one side-stepped, avoiding his creation easily. The fire got harder to dodge and soon enough the knights had located the source and started fighting back.At one point, the apprentice knight managed to get close enough to give his arm quite the cut. In return, the flames on Remus tripled in size and gave both the knights a fair burn.

Deciding that it was about time he ended this song and dance, lest he lose control and scorch off their faces, Remus made a plan. He willed his skin to cool down, still hot, but no longer aflame. Once he finally did that, he increased the smoke in the room, making it impossible for anyone aside from Remus to see a foot in front of themselves, or in this case, behind. 

Within a few seconds he was holding the older knight close to himself, dagger to his neck, and the sword on the floor. He cleared the smoke only slightly, just enough for the apprentice to see his sire being so clearly threatened.

“Let him go,” the older teen demanded.

“And why would I do that? Do you know how easy it would be for me to spill his guts all over the floor? My crows would probably enjoy a meal,” Remus didn’t actually have crows, but he added that anyways. Crows seemed like a super cool (or in this case; hot) villain pet.

The apprentice was quick to say, “You would never.”

“Oh I definitely would.” To add a little dramatic flair to his statement, Remus drew a tiny bit of the older man’s blood. 

At this action the other shouted, “Please! I’ll do anything! Just don’t kill him!”

The older knight tried to protest, to save his apprentice from doing anything he might regret, but Remus cut him off. “Great! Drop your sword!” Remus grinned. This might actually work. As expected, the other boy complied. Remus started speaking again, “Alright. Now, in a minute here, we are both going to leave. I’m gonna go wherever I please, and you are going to take this old brute back to the castle to report to my brother.” 

The apprentice nodded, confused at where this was going. The criminal, oblivious to the other’s confusion, continued, “And when you get there, I need you to deliver a message. Tell Roman that I didn’t mean to break the promise. Tell him I’m sorry.” 

For a brief moment, Remus didn’t look like a murderer to the older boy. He instead looked like a scared, lonely teenager, who just lost his family. That glimpse past Remus’ villainous attitude was quickly forgotten as he brought the dagger closer to the knight’s throat. “Understood?” The prince asked, with so many threats crammed into that one word like ashes in an urn. 

“Yes! Just let him go,” the apprentice knight pleaded. Remus’ grin grew wide before the room was once again encased in blinding green smoke. Remus shoved the knight to the ground before darting out of the room, grabbing his horse, and leaving the city.

Remus rode as fast as he could to get away from that city. He managed a healing spell using his materials he had brought with him. He didn’t get the spell perfect, but he was no longer bleeding. If he hadn’t been able to close the wound he might have attracted a vampire. As cool as fighting one of those bloodsucking baddies sounds, he should really be going. 

Remus pulled out his map to look for a place to stay. He only took a little bit to decide on a village called Yellowseed in the outskirts of the kingdom. It was far away from the capital and news probably took a long time to get there. He had never really heard about it, but that might just be due to his awful skills at paying attention during classes. It would take a few weeks to get there at his pace, but that just meant he had more time to think of an identity! He was thinking maybe the name Patrick, like patricide would be fitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry if my characterization is bad. This chapter is entirely from Remus' perspective so I could have made him act more like canon Remus but I don't write sexual stuff or any swearing so I tried. Sorry for the wait I was procrastinating a bit and haven't figured out a schedule yet but I will try to take less time with next chapter. I am still fairly new at this and would very much appreciate any tips or constructive criticism. I didn't think anyone would ever read this so thank you for surprising me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not actually a chapter! Just an announcement!

While I was writing this fan-fiction I have found that I really don't feel ready to write as big of a story that this is going to be yet. This is my first fic so I'm very inexperienced and didn't like my characterization and writing. So I was thinking that I should take a break from this and practice with a few shorter stories before continuing. I worked hard on the planning for this and I am super happy with the plot I decided on and will definitely continue this (or maybe rewrite it I REALLY don't like the first chapter). There will be more of this and it will hopefully be much better than the first two chapters. I'm sorry for starting this and then taking a break after only two chapters. I'm already working on two other shorter stories and plan to post those on Ao3 when they are complete. I don't know when I'll come back to Several Sides to a Story but I am excited for when I do! Thank you for being patient with me as I am still learning. Have a wonderful day/night!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry If this is confusing and jumps around a little too much! It will all come back together and explain itself! If you do have any questions though please do comment and ask me and I will clear it up! Thank you!


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